45 years ago: The Oilers step foot in the Astrodome

The Houston Oilers ducked out of the cold rain Friday to work out on the nice dry Astroturf. This was the first time that Bud Adams' football team was allowed to set foot in the Domed Stadium — although sports fans were led to believe all Oiler games would be played there before the dome was built. The team's games are played at Rice Stadium - where the Oilers meet the San Diego Chargers Saturday. Published Friday, December 15, 1967. (Richard Pipes : Chronicle file)

What you see here is a photo that probably put a smile on the faces of Houston sports fans when it was published 45 years ago today.

“Oilers in the Dome! There is a Santa Claus!”

That’s the headline that accompanied the photo in the Dec. 15, 1967, editions of the Houston Chronicle. What you see here is the first time the Oilers stepped foot inside the Astrodome.

You’ll recall the dome opened in April 1965 when the Astros played there. Football fans assumed the Oilers would play there that fall, too. The team even began selling tickets for Astrodome seats.

However, owner Bud Adams and the Houston Sports Association’s Roy Hofheinz couldn’t agree on lease terms. According to the Hofheinz bio “The Grand Huckster” by Edgar W. Ray, Adams said the rental Hofheinz sought was the “ninth wonder of the world.”

Eventually, both parties would settle their differences and the Oilers, who had been playing at Rice Stadium at that point, would move over to the dome for the 1968 season.